About me

Santa to the Rescue by Adele Downs‏

Adele Downs writes contemporary romance inside the office of her rural Pennsylvania home. She is a former journalist, published in newspapers and magazines inside the USA, UK, and Caribbean.

Adele is an active member of Romance Writers of America and her local RWA chapter where she serves as past-president. She has written several articles for RWR magazine (Romance Writers Report), the trade journal of Romance Writers of America, and has presented workshops for writers.

When Adele isn’t working on her current project, she can be found riding in her convertible or reading a book on the nearest beach.

Firefighter Jamey Tucker knows three things in life to be true: an honorable man doesn't go back on his word; never hurt a woman; and lasting love isn't a myth. But with his recent move to a new job at Appleton Fire Station, the long hours don't offer hope of finding the love he’s looking for. When Jamey meets beautiful pediatric nurse Heather Longhurst after hearing her sing Santa Baby in a supermarket aisle, he offers her a promise he discovers he can't keep. Heather has been betrayed by men in the past, making it hard for Jamey to gain her trust. Determined to find a way to win her heart, Jamey uses firefighter engine-uity and Heather's favorite song to prove he's got Christmas spirit she can believe in all year. Q) What inspired you to write this story?
When Entangled Publishing announced its call for submissions for Christmas stories based on the song Santa Baby, the Country music version by Taylor Swift came to mind. I love Country music and wanted to do something different with my tale, using a contemporary version of the classic recording. The lyric…a '54 convertible too… made me smile, since I drive a convertible. The verse sparked an idea for the plotline. The next thing I knew, I envisioned a firefighter, since I'd sold a story under another pen name to a firefighter anthology around that time. Jamey Tucker became my story hero.

After tumbling Santa Baby lyrics around in my head with images of a convertible and a firefighter, the story began to evolve. A pediatric nurse named Heather Longhurst emerged as my heroine and the writing flowed. SANTA TO THE RESCUE is the result and I'm happy to celebrate my new release with you.

Q) How long did it take you to write?
SANTA TO THE RESCUE seemed to flow from my fingertips to the keyboard. I don’t remember how long it took to write, but I do know the process was pure joy. This was one of those stories that just clicked for me. That rarely happens when writing; the process is usually filled with angst and bloodletting. When the story sold, I was thrilled.

Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
Release day!

Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
Waiting for those acceptance or rejections letters. It never gets easier.

Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
I’d like to be a hugely famous author and feel the pressure and pleasure of rising to the top of the publishing industry.

Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
LOL! What a great question. I found some two-year old salad dressing in the fridge recently, and a bottle of soy sauce from who-knows-when. I’m usually very organized, though, and try to keep old food and clutter out of my house. Sometimes I succeed better than others.

Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
I’m excited to be joining Boroughs Publishing for KISSING HER COWBOY, a Lunchbox Romance short story, to release January 10, 2014. I also have other manuscripts in the pipeline and hope to share news about them soon. I’m always writing and submitting.

Thank you for hosting me on your wonderful blog. It’s been a pleasure to visit with you!